The Dragon's Test (Book 3) (28 page)

The dragon bent his neck low and brought his snout directly in front of Marlin. “I did not say that,” he corrected. “I said only to hasten it. Your predecessor was over zealous in his willingness to please me when I asked the same of him.” The dragon pulled back a few feet. “I am sure that you will find Erik more than willing to expedite the process as well.”

“That may be true, but he isn’t ready for the test yet. He hasn’t had nearly enough time to prepare.”

The dragon tapped his thick claw on the stone floor. “I think you will find he has made great leaps in his abilities, even without the proper tutelage.” The beast looked upward, as if he could see through the ceiling up to where Erik lay. “There is a change in his power, in his spirit. I can feel it. Surely you have noticed a shift in his aura as well?”

The prelate nodded reluctantly. “I saw it,” he said. “I will do what I can, but I will need some time to ensure he is ready for the test. You know as well as I that the test itself could rend him asunder if he isn’t properly prepared.”

The dragon bent back low and let his hot breath wash over the prelate. “If Erik is not ready within two weeks, it will no longer matter whether he is the boy of prophecy or not. The enemy grows strong, and is preparing to strike.”

The words shook Marlin to his very core. The hairs on his neck stood on end and shivers ran along his spine. “What aren’t you telling me?” Marlin asked nervously.

“There is one in the temple that seeks to undo all that Erik has accomplished.”

“Who?” Marlin asked. “I have the gift of sight, and I see no malice in the auras in the temple.”

The dragon shook his head. “Someone has deceived you,” he said. “I can feel their force in the temple.”

“Can’t you give me more than that?” Marlin pressed.

The dragon slowly laid back on the stone floor. “I grow weary,” he said. “You will have to find the deceiver on your own. Should I emerge to reveal myself now, all would be lost.”

“There was a gnome who came recently, with the dwarves,” Marlin said.

“Hmmmm.” The dragon drew in a deep, slow breath. “Gnomes have a reputation for being tricksters,” he said. “Or perhaps it is one of the dwarves,” he added. “Their folk have turned away from the ways of the Ancients.”

Marlin started away and then stopped suddenly. “If I
cannot see the treachery in the deceiver’s aura, how do I know who it is?” he asked.

A long sigh was the only response he received. The dragon was back in its sleep.

Marlin left the chamber, less sure of himself now more than he had ever before been.

“I see you are eating well,” Alferug said as he walked into the library. A plate sat before Erik with only a few egg shells and strawberry stems left of the food that had once been on it.

Erik looked up from the book. “Is this true?” he asked.

Alferug smiled warmly and sat in a chair opposite him. “It is,” he answered.

“You are telling me that this is how I was able to change into a dragon?” he asked.

“In a way, yes,” Alferug said. He reached across and turned the book around to face him. “You see here in this paragraph it talks about the sacred runes that enable the Champion of Truth to shift into his alternate form?”

“Yes,” Erik said.

“The runes it speaks of are the runes upon the sacred banner that I carried with me to battle. When you saw it, you recognized the symbols didn’t you?”

Erik sat back in his chair. “I felt they were familiar, but I wouldn’t say I recognized them.
”

“Your spirit recognized them, and that enabled you to use them.”

“I thought I was accessing Lepkin’s power,” Erik said.

“You were,” Alferug said. The dwarf laughed to himself when Erik looked up quizzically. He patted the air with one of his hands. “Let me explain,” he said. “The Champion of Truth is imbued with the same power that the Keeper of Secrets has, but yours comes from birth.” Alferug picked up the book and closed it gently. “However, because the spell would tear your adolescent body apart, your gift is sealed until you reach maturity.”

“So, I was able to unlock Lepkin’s power because I was in an adult body?”

Alferug nodded. “Essentially,” he said. “You also needed a bit of help. The first time, from what Al told me, you were motivated by your desire to save your father and root out the c
orruption in the senate.” He paused. “That is why Al gave me the banner. He figured that seeing the symbols in a time of great need might help you shift again and tip the balance of the battle in our favor.”

Erik folded his arms and smiled for a moment as he thought of his friend. “He always has clever ideas,” Erik said.

“That he does,” Alferug agreed. “However, you should know that your power is growing. He told me that in the valley north of Buktah, near a brook, you were able to summon a great amount of power and use it to blind a Blacktongue.”

Erik recalled the moment Alferug was talking about. “She was about to kill me,” Erik said simply.

“No,” Alferug corrected. “There was more to it than that. The Champion of Truth is motivated by pure desires, and abhors chaos and debauchery. You saw something in that Blacktongue’s soul that angered you all the way down to your very core. True though it may be you were reacting at first to save your own life that was not what called forth the power. You reacted on a visceral level, determined to expel the evil you were confronted with.”

Erik looked at him with a knit brow. “
Aren’t all Blacktongues evil?” Erik countered. “Why didn’t I react like that before?”

Alferug shook his head. “There are beings who allow themselves to give in to evil impulses, and then there are those who are driven by their evil desires. Think, how did you feel at that time?”

Erik thought again and remembered how he had felt. “I summoned my power, hoping I could use it somehow,” Erik said. “I looked into her eyes and I could feel her intentions. She had no compassion, no sympathy, nothing good. Her soul was as hollow and dead as her black eyes.” Erik closed his mouth and his chest began to burn again, as if she were before him even now.

“Your anger then became a hot fire. It seemed to want to consume her cold, barren soul,” Alferug said.

“She pressed the dagger into my cheek and wanted me to tell her where the book was. When I said ‘no’ a great light erupted from my mouth, blinding the Blacktongue and throwing her to back as she
covered her eyes.”

“And then that is the first time you were able to light Lepkin’s sword with white flames,” Alferug finished.

Erik sat and pondered for a moment and then he shook his head. “No, it isn’t,” he said.

Alferug looked at him with puzzled eyes. “It isn’t?” he repeated.

Erik shook his head again. “No, the first time the white flames came was when I battled with Erthor.”

“Al didn’t tell me about that,” he said.

“Al didn’t know,” Erik replied. “He was at my home resting from battle when I fought with Erthor.”

“Still,” a third voice said from the doorway. The two of them turned to see Marlin approaching. “The concept is the same. The first time you used the white flame was in response to the darkest evil.”

Erik nodded his head. “I knew that if I didn’t stop Erthor, then he would get the book, and everything I loved would be taken away.”

Alferug leaned forward. “The w
hite flame is a sign of the Champion of Truth,” he said.

“Where is that written?” Marlin asked.

Alferug offered him his book. “It is in the final part of the last chapter.”

Marlin shook his head. “I can’t read that,” he said. “I can only read books inscribed with…”

The dwarf opened the book and Marlin fell silent. “This is the original manuscript, written personally by Al’s grandfather, and I believe you will find it has enough magic in its words that you can read it,” Alferug said confidently.

Marlin eagerly snatched the book and flipped to the last page. “The last time I read this book was many ages ago, before I lost my natural sight,” he said. “But I don’t recall this part being in the version I read.”

“That is because we withheld it,” Alferug said. “By our king’s order we kept the final passage hidden when we copied the book for others.”

“Why did you do that?” Erik asked.

“To protect you,” Alferug said. “If everyone knew how to identify the Champion of Truth, then it would be easy for the enemy to find you, or worse still, perhaps they could have found a way to impersonate the Champion of Truth by using spells of deceit.”

“What do you mean?” Erik asked.

Marlin nodded and set the book down. “Because everyone knows that the Champion of Truth has to be proven through the Exalted Test of Arophim, no one dares try to step forward falsely, but if they knew that all they had to do is fashion a black sword and make white flames appear on it, then any half-witted mage could try to come forward and claim to be the Champion of Truth.”

“Exactly,” the dwarf said. “So we kept that part back from the rest of the kingdom. We wanted to avoid the chaos of having multiple false champions coming forward to try and get the book.”

“Clever,” Marlin said. “How is it that
you
have the original copy?” he asked.

Alferug beamed with pride. “By virtue of my office in the court, I am entrusted to keep the book safe, and to offer advice to the king when needed to help the Champion of Truth.”

“So, when will I be able to use my dragon power?” Erik asked.

Marlin cut in. “There is some debate about that,” he said. “Some believe that The Champion of Truth will automatically change into a dragon upon reaching the age of adulthood, and others believe it is a power that he can use at will once his training is complete.”

“Which is it?” Erik asked. Marlin shrugged.

“I can see the merits of both theories, but I have not run across any texts that decide the matter definitively.” The prelate then turned a keen eye on Alferug. “The dwarves wouldn’t have kept that secret as well, would they?”

Alferug scoffed. “No,” he said. “We have the same debates in our hall about the meaning of the word ‘maturity’ that is written in the passage.” He sighed and looked back to Erik. “One thing most of us do agree with is that it is likely extremely dangerous to try and force the change. Al and I took the risk only because you had already been able to change from Lepkin’s form into the dragon.”

“But to do so now could be disastrous,” Marlin interjected. “Not only is your power raw, but unlike Lepkin’s body, yours has not reached maturity and would likely not survive the change.”

Erik looked to the floor. “So what
do
we do?” he asked.

“We train,” Marlin said. “And as soon as you are ready, you will take the test and advance to the next stage.”

“I am ready now,” Erik said confidently.

Alferug leaned back in his chair and looked at Erik hard for a moment. “You have been through a lot,” he said. “But I don’t think you are quite ready yet.”

“Why not?” Erik argued. “I have already changed into a dragon, twice! I have called forth the white flames many times now, and I have been able to use my power in all sorts of ways. I used it to dispel the warlock’s spell and reveal his true form in the senate hall, I used it to discern which senators were evil and corrupt, and I even used it to find magical traps in the warlock’s home. What more do I have to prove before I can take the test?”

“There is a lot more,” Marlin said softly.

“And in the meantime how many more of my friends will die?” Erik spurted out. His face was flush red and he was breathing heavily. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Marlin knelt down next to him. “I understand,” he said. “I can see the anger and the hurt in you. Do you remember when I said I would never force you to take the Exalted Test of Arophim?”

Erik nodded once.

“I also can’t allow you to take it too early. To do so would be carelessly risking your life.”

“I have already been risking my life,” Erik replied.

Marlin smiled. “That you have,” he said. “I promise I won’t delay your test one second longer than I have to in order to prepare you.”

“What else do you want me to do?” Erik asked.

“Come with me,” Marlin said. “Let’s go back up to the training room.”

*****

Marlin
moved quietly through the halls and up the stone steps. As he slipped out from the stairwell and into the hall where Lepkin lay, he looked both ways. One of the temple priests stood at the far end, leaning on the window sill and looking outside. No one else was in the hall. The prelate walked to the door and opened it just enough to slip inside the room.

Inside only a few torches were lit, but it was more than enough light to see clearly. Four priests stood around Lepkin with their hands on his upper body. They c
hanted healing spells and Marlin could see the energy flowing from them to Lepkin. The priests’ eyes were closed, and none seem to notice him as he moved behind one of the pillars closer to where Lepkin lay.

His mind was heavy, still replaying the warning he had received earlier. Who could the traitor be? He scanned the healers’ auras briefly, just to double check his own men. He saw no fault in any of them. He thought about the dragon’s words and knew that it had to be one of the people who came with Erik to the temple. He found it hard to believe that either Alferug or Jaleal could be the traitors the dragon spoke of.

Perhaps it was one of the dwarves outside the walls? That would be the only thing that made sense, since he hadn’t been able to scan any of their auras. Except, he was told that it was someone
inside
the temple. He sighed and put the thoughts out of his head.

Marlin stepped forward, scanning Lepkin’s aura as the healers finished and began to break their connection with him.
“Any change?” he asked.

“None,” one of the healers said.

Marlin walked in and placed a hand over Lepkin’s forehead. “We are running out of time,” he said. The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise, as they had in the sacred chamber below. It was as if a pair of eyes were upon him. Marlin used his peripheral vision to scan the room, but saw no hint of any other life force. Suddenly Marlin looked up, and saw an aura hiding up on top of one of the large beams, in the crook of a joist, high up on the ceiling. Marlin squinted and recognized the aura almost instantly. “You can come down,” Marlin said with a hard edge to his tone.

The aura didn’t move.

“Come down, Jaleal,” Marlin said. His tone was sharper this time.

Jaleal descended and bowed before him. “I only came to help,” the gnome said.

“By hiding in the shadows with a spear?” Marlin questioned.

“It isn’t what it looks like,” Jaleal said. “Trust me, I can help him.”

“How?” Marlin said. His white eyes bored into the gnome’s swirling aura, looking for the truth behind the creature’s words. Jaleal started to fidget and squirm.

“Just…” the gnome stammered. “Just watch.” He moved to Lepkin’s bed, jumped up and raised his spear overhead.

Marlin launched into action and struck Jaleal with a psionic blast that sent the little creature sprawling through the air to land on the far side of the room. “Hold fast!” Marlin commanded. “Move and we will send you to Hammenfein!”

Jaleal shook his head and scanned the room. He sprinted for the nearest shadow and called forth his cloaking spell, but it proved useless. Every man in the room came charging straight for him. “Stop,” Jaleal said. “It isn’t what it looks like.”